Busy Summer for Mobile Check Deposit

Looking for an excuse to extend that summer vacation a little longer? Well, you can cross one errand off your list: there’s no longer a need to rush to your local branch to deposit checks. The latest data from our Mobile Monitor research service reveals an explosion in the number of firms introducing mobile check deposit, or as the capability is commonly known remote deposit capture (RDC), this summer.

RDC Growth RDC isn’t a new technology. USAA has been offering Deposit@Mobile to its military client base since 2009, and Chase’s QuickDeposit introduced the mobile capability to a broader domestic audience in 2010. More firms gradually followed. It wasn’t just banks, either. RDC makes sense for investment firms who may not have extensive branch or ATM networks but still need convenient ways for their clients to add funds. In mid-2011, Charles Schwab and Fidelity competed to be the first brokerage with the capability. In total, by early 2012, nine firms Corporate Insight tracks had launched RDC tools.

This summer, though, the concept has seen renewed interest. Since May, five more firms – ING Direct, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust and Vanguard – have all added RDC tools. These firms generally follow industry standards in terms of design (and catchy names, such as ING’s CheckMate).

Mobile Check Deposit Tools – ING, Chase and Fidelity (left to right)

Closing Thoughts RDC has moved from fancy gadgetry for tech-savvy customers to a capability that average clients are now expecting their firms to provide. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are notable as the last of the “big 4” banks to embrace RDC, but firms across the financial services industry should be feeling pressure from clients and competitors alike to make sure their mobile capabilities are up to date.